Friday, April 26, 2013

Bonjour à tous / Hi everyone!Je sais, ça ne fait pas très printemps de parler de chocolat chaud mais moi je trouve qu'il n'y pas de saison pour être gourmande (en plus, on peut très bien le déguster froid!). I know, I know, it's not very spring-like to talk about hot chocolate but as for me there is no season to be greedy (besides, who said you have to drink it hot, it's also delicious cold). Just to prove my point, it is one of Malaysia's most drunk beverages!!! (I don't know if anyone from Malaysia will read this but I was a huge drinker of cold Milo when I was there!).

So let's go back to this product: Now foods organic instant hot cocoa. I bought it on iherb.com when I had to place an order for homeopathic remedies and was way below the maximum weight. I thought I would throw this in... and it was definitely a good idea. What I like about it is first that it already contains milk so you can just add hot water. I find it very convenient (even if a cloud of milk does not hurt). Second positive point: it tastes delicious. Pure cocoa amateurs may be disappointed because it is more akin to milk chocolate than dark chocolate but believe me it's lovely. Two heaped teaspoons in a cup will take you to chocolate heaven!It costs 8.34 dollars on iherb for 24oz which is not cheap but for an organic produce of this quality I think it's worth it.Code réduction Iherb : utilisez le code SHD656 pour avoir 5 ou 10 dollars de réduction sur votre première commande (de moins ou de plus de 40 dollars). Coupon code for Iherb.com : use code SHD656 to get 5 or 10 dollars off your first order (depending on the total amount : less or more than 40 dollars). Si vous l'avez essayé laissez moi un commentaire!If you have tried it let me know what you thought!

The cons :- there is ginger in it so I can't say that it does not sting at all, it does a little bit - you have to rinse really well otherwise it leaves a strange taste behind (I would imagine a little like soap even though I'm not used to getting soap in my mouth!)

Today I have a review of the nail polish trio I recently purchased on the ELF site. It costs 3 euros ans as you can see on the botton picture, the bottles are mini-sized ones but it's OK for me as I hardly ever finish a bottle anyway. For the swatch I used the middle color called Flirty Fuchsia which is indeed a true vibrant fuchsia (my camera has washed out the color).

I like to rotate my products regularly and a few days ago I went through my stash and picked up All Smiles blush from Everyday Minerals. Mine is in a compact form but they don't sell them anymore (too bad, I find it so much more practical). It's one of their flagship colors, I believe it's been in store ever since they launched their site.

I had not gotten much use of it so far because it is a very pigmented color that looks scarily deep in the packaging. In fact, if you apply it lightly it is a lovely corally-peach color. It's completely matte, gives you a healthy look and lasts all day. And I like the fact that there is no shimmer whatsoever to go to work so that I don't have to worry about looking like a disco ball if I overdid it in the morning!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Bonjour à tous / Hi everyone!Dear English-speaking readers don't go away, this post is both in French and in EnglishAujourd'hui voici une revue d'un produit que j'aime beaucoup : le lait nettoyant Avalon Organics CoQ10 Repair (faire plus long aurait été difficile!). Here is a review of a product I've come to like a lot: the Avalon Organics CoQ10 Repair cleansing milk (what a long name!).Il ne contient aucun ingrédient suspect et se trouve facilement sur iherb ou vitacost. Si c'est votre première commande sur ces sites regardez en bas du message pour avoir un code de réduction. It does not contain any suspicious ingredient and is easily available on iherb.com or vitacost.com. If you want to place a first order check the end of this post for coupon codes. Je l'ai acheté pour alterner avec mon nettoyant Mychelle que j'aime toujours autant mais comme il contient des acides de fruits et que j'ai la peau sensible, il est plus prudent de ne pas l'utiliser plus d'une fois par jour. I bought this to alternate with my Mychelle cleanser that I still enjoy using very much. As it is a fruit acid cleanser and as I have sensitive skin, I think it best to only use it once a day.

Ah, the problem of natural deodorants.. Don't tell me I'm the only one having trouble finding one that I really like... I Personally need something really effective as my job is demanding and stressfull. Besides, I stand all day and I'm surrounded by people all the time. To cut a long story short I sweat and It MUST NOT smell. On the contrary my husband has a less stressful job, he sits all day and sweats little. This being said, he exercises almost everyday. So we both tested these 3 deodorants.

Lafes Deodorant Stick in the scent 'powder': we are unanimous : you might as well not put anything on as this is not only totally inefficient but besides it does not slide on skin and tugs on it. To top it off we don't like the smell (think cheap baby powder). My advice is: do not buy this.

Avril Beauté Organic deodorant : it's cheap, it smells good but unfortunately it's not very efficient. If you sweat very little this might work OK. My husband hates it because it pulls his hairs (!) when he applies it. It deposits a lot of product which means that you have to wait quite a while before you can put your clothes on unless you dry your pits with a hairdryer (!).

Nature's gate deodorant in Orange Patchouli : we love the scent of this one (if they make it into a perfume one day, I will be a faithful customer) and the stick which of course does not leave your skin wet but which also glides on really well. It's very pleasant to use and it's the most efficient of the three. It's enough for a normal day but not for an extra-long event-filled one. You can find in on iherb or on vitacost (and if you want to place a first order you can use the coupon codes at the bottom of this post).

Today, I'm reviewing a lipgloss by The All Natural Face. I already have another gloss from this brand, Angel Wings, that I like very much (see here). This time it's the shade chocolate roses. I was expecting some kind of rose color bordering on brown but this is a straight brown... and it's very very brown.

Contrary to Angel Wings which is lightly pigmented, this shade is a lot more intense. On me it's unwearable, a lot too dark and a lot too brown. Besides, the color tends to migrate into all the tiny wrinkles around the mouth which looks bad. I would advise anyone who is keen on wearing this color to use a lipliner first to prevent this problem. As always, it's only my opinion and if you have tested this product, I'd love to know what you think about it!

A few days ago I placed my first ELF order. I wanted to buy some new nail polishes and theirs have one of the safest formula on the market (but more on that in another post). And so I bought a mineral lipstick in Barely Bitten.

The formula contains paraffin wax, which I would rather avoid (it's derived from petroleum). Sadly I had not noticed it before buying and I could not have as it does not appear in the list of ingredients on the website!!! I will contact them shortly about this subject.

The color is beautiful, it's a neutral red which can be applied sheer with one swipe or built up to be more opaque and intense with two or more swipes. The finish is very interesting, it's a suede finish even though the product is moisturizing. It glides on lips effortlessly. The color lasts for a couple of hours then starts to fade. One good point is that it does not contain any chemical dyes.

I don't think I will purchase again as I would rather patronize small companies and also because they have deceived me with an incomplete ingredient list. And anyway I have enough lip products for the moment!

Celui de gauche, Natural Beauty at Home est de Janice Cox qui à ma connaissance en a écrit deux autres (très bien aussi mais certaines recettes sont similaires, ce n'est donc pas vraiment nécessaire d'avoir les trois). Elle permet de faire de très nombreux produits avec des moyens et des ingrédients très simples. C'est bien présenté, ça donne vraiment envie de s'y mettre pour soi mais aussi pour faire des cadeaux à ceux qu'on aime (elle donne des idées pour cela également). Parfois je le feuillette simplement pour avoir l'inspiration. Il y a des recettes pour tout. A mon avis c'est un très bon livre, surtout quand on commence dans ce domaine. The one on the left is called Natural Beauty at Home and it is from Janice Cox (she has also written two other natural beauty books but some recipes are similar so I don't think that you necessarily need to buy all three). There are lots of recipes for everything you can think of using simple ingredients. It's well presented and fun to read and it will make you want to start making things for you and your loved ones (she also gives some great gift-giving ideas). Sometimes I like flipping through it just to get the inspiration. In my opinion, it's the perfect book for beginners.Celui de droite est axé sur l'aromathérapie. Une partie substantielle de l'ouvrage est dédiée aux bienfaits de chaque ingrédient. Les textures obtenues sont très agréables en général (je n'ai pas tout testé cependant) et j'aime l'idée d'incorporer des huiles essentielles afin d'avoir un produit encore plus efficace (et qui de plus sent très bon le plus souvent). La dernière partie est consacrée aux produits à faire avec des aliments frais (cela vous rappellera certainement les cosmétiques Lush). The one on the right is focused on aromatherapy. A substantial part of the book is dedicated to the benefits of each ingredient. The textures obtained are very pleasant in general (I have not tested all recipes) and I like the idea of incorporating essential oils to get a more performant product (which will smell very nice besides in most cases). The last part is about making products using fresh ingredients (this is bound to remind you of Lush cosmetics).On peut acheter les deux livres sur amazon, il y en a souvent de disponibles d'occasion pour un tout petit prix.Both books are available on amazon and can usually be purchased used for a minimal price.Alors, vous commencez quand?So when do you start?

Here are my March favorites:First of all the Green Tea muscle Recovery from Yogi Tea. It's time to start gardening again and that is worth all the workouts in the world! This tea helps muscles recover more quickly and it has a delicious lotus taste.

And here are my favorite skincare and makeup items of the month (from left to right):

- Shea Butter bubble bath : Yes it's a kids' product but not only! It foams really well and has a delicious lavender small. I rarely take a bath out of ecological concern but also because of lack of time but when I'm sick it's a necessity.

- Deep Steep Body Butter : hydrates well without being greasy, this one smells of bergamot and grapefruit (beware, the scent is quite strong!). At first, I liked it alright but no more than that but it has really grown on me. Bien hydratant mais non gras, celui-ci sent la bergamote et le pamplemousse (attention, l'odeur est assez forte).

- Blue mint nail polish from Mavala : the formulation is excellent. Unfortunately it is not the cleanest nail polish (I believe it contains benzophenone-1). A lovely color for spring, to be worn on a clean base (mine comes from Avril Beauté).

- Lilac Nail Polish from MUA : cheap and cheerful and the formula is clean (for a nail polish!). Lasts well and the color looks very fresh.

Coupon code for Iherb.com
: use code SHD656 to get 5 or 10 dollars off your first order (depending on the
total amount : less or more than 40 dollars). Coupon code for Vitacost.com : get
10 dollars off your first order if you follow this link.

A few days ago I mentioned J.Lynne glosses. Here is a review of this product. You can buy them on J. Lynne. They come in sample sizes (the one that I have) in which case they are solid, or in a classic tube with a wand applicator. The pros :

They smell of oranges!

Their price: samples cost 2.5 dollars (and at the time they are reduced to 1.25 dollar!!!) and they last a long time.

There are a lot of colors available.

They are non sticky, last a long time and hydrate really well.

The cons:

A tube costs 12 dollars, not an outrageous price but still a little pricey in my opinion.

The colors are all sheer even if they do show up on your lips. Perfect if you like a natural look but if you want a really pigmented gloss, this product is not for you.